A win for Adam Winkelmann, of the National and Royal Irish Yacht Clubs, puts him in second overall and two points off the overall lead at the Dragon European Championships in San Remo, Italy after five races sailed.

As Afloat previously reported, Winkelmann is on the crew of the Portuguese entry Petti Portugal with reigning Dragon European and Gold Cup Champion Pedro Andrade at the helm.

Swiss entry Quick1 sailed by Wolf Waschkuhn, Charles Nankin and Ruairidh Scott continue his overall lead by two points after discard and with two races left to sail for The Virginie Heriot Cup.

In Thursday's race five, the Portuguese/Irish entry was second to the top mark with Washkin struggling mid-fleet. Andrade managed to get to first on the second beat and Washkin got back to seventh by the finish.

There is a question mark tonight over the rest of the championship due to the forecasted arrival of a storm on Friday.

The current plan is to go out early for two final races in San Remo, weather permitting.

Download results below

Adam Winkelmann, of the National and Royal Irish Yacht Clubs, is lying third overall at the Dragon European Championships in San Remo, Italy after four races sailed.

As Afloat previously reported, Winkelmann is on the crew of the Portuguese entry Petti Portugal with reigning Dragon European and Gold Cup Champion Pedro Andrade at the helm.

Big winds are forecast for the venue today (Thursday) and Friday so the prospect of further racing is being described as 'marginal'. 

Swiss entry Quick1 sailed by Wolf Waschkuhn, Charles Nankin and Ruairidh Scott leads by two points from Holland's Pieter Heerema, Lars Hendriksen and Herve Cunningham on 20 points. 

The Portuguese entry sits on 30 points.  A single race discard will apply if one more race is held. 

Download results below.

The Robotic Mowers Cork One-Design Keelboat Regatta is on Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd May 2022 in Kinsale Yacht Club.

The regatta is open to Squib and Dragon keelboats. It is an open event and KYC is looking forward to welcoming entrants from Glandore Harbour Yacht Club.

Six races are scheduled over the two days, and they will be sailed in the waters between the Old Head and the Sovereign Islands.

Download the NOR below.

The Dragon European Championships kick off in San Remo, Italy on Monday next.

Irish interest in the three-man keelboat competition will be with Adam Winkelmann, National and Royal Irish Yacht Clubs, who joins the crew of the Portuguese entry Petti Portugal with reigning Dragon European & Gold Cup Champion Pedro Andrade at the helm.

Pedro is also the new owner of Petticrows, the largest builder of Dragons in Europe and they are sailing one of the earliest new boats from their production line in Portugal (moved from Burnham on Crouch in the UK).

Both Pedro and Adam are regular crew with Martin Byrne and John Simms onboard Jaguar Sailing Team from Royal St George Yacht Club, who are based in Europe, but not competing at this regatta.

The Dragon European Championship racing continues until Friday, 

The International Dragon Association condemns the Russian attack on Ukraine and confirms its decision to suspend the participation of Russian sailors and officials from all international sailing events including World Sailing owned and sanctioned competitions and events until further notice.

This includes the European Championship, the World Championship, the Gold Cup and all Grand Prix events 2022.

In a statement, the prestigious keelboat association says "by implementing these measures, the IDA is following World Sailing guidance in supporting a united and coordinated approach within the global sports movement".

Russian and Ukrainian Dragons competing with other nations at a previous European Championships Photo: Russian Dragon Association

This decision is in line with the IOC Executive Board’s protocols aimed at preserving the integrity of competitions and ensuring the safety of all athletes.

The statement concludes "We ask all sailors to respect each other during these difficult times and wish to state that the IDA denounces any defamatory statements made against any of our fellow sailors regardless of their nationality. We look forward to an immediate end to all hostilities and we hope for a time in the near future when we can compete again together".

The Irish Dragon Fleet continues to build interest as the 2024 Gold Cup in Kinsale comes closer. News that the Glandore and Kinsale fleets particularly are experiencing strong growth in numbers and standard of sailors is contained in the International Dragon Class Review for 2021 just published. 

This year saw the addition of Colm Dunne and Colm Daly in Kinsale, two established Squib sailors who showed immediate pace finishing a superb second in the Irish Nationals. Glandore Harbour continues to foster many young talents in the Dragon class with Don Street still sailing competitively at over 90 years of age!

Despite pandemic restrictions, the three major championships went ahead as planned along with two other regional events.

Little Fella (Cameron Good, Henry Kingston & Simon Fourney/ Matthias Hellstern) Photo: Bob Bateman

Results were dominated by Little Fella (Cameron Good, Henry Kingston & Simon Fourney/ Matthias Hellstern) winning three out of the five events with Phantom (Neil Hegarty, Peter Bowring & David Williams) winning the other two.

The front cover of the  2021 International Dragon Class Review just published. Read it online via the link below

The Irish National title once again went to Phantom who has now won this prestigious regatta nine times and the last four years in a row!

Irish Dragon champions - Phantom David Williams, Peter Bowring & Neil Hegarty from the Royal St. George Yacht Club Photo: Bob Bateman

Irish Dragon sailors have once again begun to travel to European events. Seasoned International campaigners Martin Byrne and Team Jaguar have based themselves in Vilamoura for the winter whilst Brian Goggin & Daniel Murphy recently borrowed Michael Cotter's beautiful classic Tarasque to sail in the December winter series in Cannes.

Dragon trio Martin Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms

Interest is also building amongst the Irish fleet to travel to the likes of Douarnenez and Falmouth in 2022.

Kinsale’s plans for the Gold Cup 2024 are also well underway with title sponsorship already secured from yacht club member Stephen McCarthy and his company Astra Construction.

The Irish Dragon Association are planning to hold a number of feeder events for the Gold Cup to make travelling more attractive. These will include applications to the IDA for a Grand Prix event in the lead up to the Gold Cup.

Read the full Dragon Review for 2021 is online here

The International Dragon One Design has been an important of Irish sailing since the 1930s, writes W M Nixon.

This classic boat’s good looks and excellent performance continues to provide rewarding racing for sailors of all ages worldwide.

Indeed, a recently released film, titled Setting Hearts on Fire, captures the flavour of these specie craft.

And though it costs €100 to access the complete package, this free video trailer — including an input from leading Irish and international yachting historian Hal Sisk of Dun Laoghaire — makes for evocative viewing of a great boat.

Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Dragon Sailing Team finished in sixth place overall at the Marblehead Trophy in Vilamoura, Portugal on Saturday.

The Royal St George team comprised Byrne, Adam Winkelmann and John Simms.

The small 12 boat but very competitive fleet was topped by European Champion Jens Christensen from Denmark who launched a brand new Dragon for this event and won by six points.

Recent Gold Cup winner and Vendee Globe competitor Pieter Heerema from the Netherlands was second with the holder of the Marblehead Trophy and current European Champion Pedro Andrade from Portugal in third.

Results are here

After two days of racing at the Dragon Marblehead Trophy in Vilamoura, Portugal Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Sailing Team lie in fourth place overall.

The Royal St George sailor is crewed by Adam Winkelmann and John Simms.

A 7th & 4th on day 1 was followed up by a second place in the only race today in light breezes.

There was some drama ashore yesterday after five competitors were called OCS at the start by the Race Officer and subsequently, three skippers challenged his judgement with protests for redress. Pedro Andrade from Portugal (often a crew on Byrne’s Jaguar Team) was the only one to win his case and was subsequently reinstated in first place today to lie second overall.

Royal St George's Jaguar (blue spinnaker on left) races downwind at the Marblehead Trophy

Byrne’s result today keeps his Irish team in touch with the leaders in fourth overall with two days of racing remaining.

“We have been conservative in our approach to date but we are very happy to be, in touch with, or ahead of the elite teams on the international Dragon circuit this season all of whom have way more race time than we have had in 2021”, he told Afloat.

The small but very competitive fleet is led by former European Champion Jens Christensen from Denmark who launched a brand new Dragon for this event. He is followed by the holder of the Marblehead Trophy and current European Champion Pedro Andrade from Portugal. While the recent Gold Cup winner and Vendee Globe competitor Pieter Heerema from the Netherlands is third.

Five more races are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Results are here

The Royal St George Yacht Club has endorsed former Commodore Martin Byrne’s Jaguar Sailing Team as their representative at this week's Dragon Marblehead Trophy in Vilamoura, Portugal.

A four-time winner of the Irish Dragon Championship and a former Edinburgh Cup (British Nationals) winner Byrne has been competing on the international Dragon circuit for a number of years. But Covid related restrictions has curtailed his team’s activities over the last two seasons.

Normal service has almost resumed and his Jaguar Sailing Team is located in Vilamoura, Portugal for the Dragon winter series.

This week they compete in the prestigious Marblehead Trophy where they will be one of the only Corinthian teams in a small but very hot lineup of international Dragon champions which includes the current Gold Cup and European Champions as well as multiple Olympic medalists.

It’s no surprise that Byrne’s crew includes Adam Winkelmann (RIYC) who has shared in all of the team's successes and is completed by Laser veteran and offshore helm John Simms from Royal Ulster YC.

Byrne’s told Afloat he was relieved the team successfully negotiated the crew weigh-in procedure and that their impressive form in the recent Portuguese National Championships, where they were unlucky to finish 5th, would be no indication as to the "daunting challenge" facing them this week.

More here